Yes, I agree. I don't think the Boy Scouts should be discriminating against people on the basis of religious beliefs either. A boy or teenager should not be required to follow one religion over another or be ostracized because he is a Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Agnostic or Atheist.
Best Regards,
Donovan
--- On Tue, 2/3/09, Ralph Nielsen <nielsen at uidaho.edu> wrote:
From: Ralph Nielsen <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
Subject: BE OUTSIDE!
To: "vision 2020" <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
Cc: "Donovan Arnold" <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 7:05 AM
The Boy Scouts also refuse to admit boys who do not believe in a god, thereby rejecting Buddhists, Confucianists, agnostics and atheists. This is in addition to their rejection of boys who are gay. They do not deserve public funding. The Girl Scouts of America, however, have no discriminatory policies at all. If the Girl Scouts can be open-minded, there there is no excuse why the Boy Scouts can't be also. That is why the Boy Scouts do not deserve taxpayers' money and the Girl Scouts do.Ralph NielsenDonovan Arnold 241);" color="#000af1">donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com Mon Feb 2 23:20:00 PST 2009
Roger,
Boy scouts does take public money. In doing so, they SHOULD NOT be allowed to discriminate against teenagers and staff because of their sexual orientation.
If you disagree, you disagree. But I think it is wrong.
I also think any organization that discriminates against children, teens, and staff on the basis of sexual orientation, disability, and race is wrong. Children cannot escape the discrimination because they have to attend public schools with their peers that are also in this social organization that teaches being like them is wrong. What does this do to the self esteem of a teenager in a small town when all the boys his age are BS but he cannot join because he is gay? Teenagers have a difficult enough time fitting in with the group without adults creating additional meaningless divisions.
Comparing religion is not the same, IMHO because religion relates to following a higher power of the State, the Boy Scouts is not.
Best Regards,
Donovan
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